CompuServe Thread

To All Concerned, Computers and software are no different than other consumer products. Certain platforms, operating systems, and software are just tools used to produce results. I don't think there is any one of us who isn't a little jealous of some aspect or feature of someone else's system and software. We have all chosen our respective setups for varying reasons. What ever they are, you owe it yourself to learn your OS and the software it runs inside and out. It wouldn't hurt to learn your hardware and maybe even a little programming, even if you only try it once or twice. I have a Borland compiler, and some books on programming games, graphics, ray tracers and Windows. I am not into programming, but every now and then while waiting for a rendering I skin through one of these books just so I can get an idea how things are supposed to work. My system of choice is a PC running DOS and Windows. For a living, I do Desktop Publishing. I am as good as it gets in this field. By that, I mean that there are probably hundreds of people worldwide that can operate at the same level, but I doubt that than anyone is significantly faster and more quality oriented, or able to meet deadline any better. I never used to be this proficient, but while working for Lazerquick's (the Northwest's largest quick printer) Graphics Department at their central production facility, I got a big kick in the pants by a man named Phillip DiPaolo. I though I knew PageMaker OK, but this guy way beyond me. As someone who has always wanted to be one of the best, I realized that I needed to do more than think I knew the program, I had to KNOW it; why it does what it does, what its thinks it supposed to do, etc. Phillip was gracious enough to pass his knowledge on to me, something that I can only repay by using it to the best of my ability, and passing the knowledge on. (Incidentally, my 18 months there was all on a Mac network). Over the past three years, anyone out there that has done DTP has seen an appalling growth in the number of so-called Desktop Publishers who, because they have purchased some cheapo DTP program, or can make a business in PageMaker, think they can go out and get a job at $xxx per hour. What is alarming is that too many of them get jobs at relativly high pay, and then can't meet the actual expectations. This puts employers on guard, and then drives down the wages for someone who really knows their stuff. Another way people get a DTP job is by convincing an employer that it is only a matter of learning a new program and that they learn quickly, etc. This is the basic flaw in the thinking of most users. My experience proves that there is a real difference between a PROGRAM and an APPLICATION. A program can usually be learned quicker and faster that an application. This is the example I use: How many of you can use a pencil? Now, how many of you can draw? It is very easy to say that you could learn to draw if someone would only show you, but that is only part of it. I can draw, and I can show you exactly what I do, but the rest has to come from you. That means time, effort and frustration. Which brings us up to the point. There is no interface, OS or software that is to hard to use or figure out. If you say you can't, I think you really mean it isn't worth your time. I made the choice of using AM. Yes, I have considered dumping it for some time, mainly because the Sculpture module is a study of excellence and inefficiency. I am currently trying to make a model of a TIE Interceptor as shown on the cover the LucasArts game TIE Fighter. It might look at first to be a simple job of a few hours, but take a closer look. The hull is not a smooth sphere, but composed of 12 wedges, with a flattish suacer-like bottom, and a rounded hatch on top with three slots cut out for windows. If AM's modeler had CSG functions, this really would be the work of several hours, but it actually becomming the work of several days, and I haven't even finished the hull yet. I am sticking with the project because when it is done, I will have a much better understanding of how AM works, and why it does what it does. I have downloaded a few grahpics of other animators' TIE Fighters, and when mine is done it will be a bit more detailed. If you were to look at a finished rendering of mine compared to theirs, would you decide that mine was done with a superior program because it might look superior? Probably not. If you were like me, you would wonder what program was used to create it. Quality animation comes from people who take the time to problem solve, and rarle have to say "That's good enough". And that's what I tell people animation mostly is; problem solving. With the advent of better faster computers and programs, I am seeing the same trend in Animation that I saw in DTP; people that know a little are starting to pass themselves of as animators, or digital video experts. I am fairly new to animating. I would imagine that a cel animator a Disney might not know squat about computer animation. So do I know more than this person? Not even! The keyword is ANIMATION. I probable know more about computers. For those of you who want a quick and easy way to produce quality animation, and spend your time moaning and groaning about program deficiencies, there is a very simple solution; hire those of us who spend the time to get the most out of what is available. I am not a "techie geek" or "propeller head". I am a creator. I enjoy seeing the creations of others. When I see somrthing on TV that was probably computer animated, I try to visualize how I would do it in AM. Some effects are obviously impossible within the program, while others are not, but appear to be. The men and the boys will be separated and the boys will run crying to mommy when they see some of the animation being done with AM and other quality programs. Any one of us could have created a work like the guy who did the incredible Head animaton. As anyone that reads Martin's Minutes knows, even he doesn't know the extent the program can be taken to, since he's had to ask people to show him project files to prove that the work was done with his program. And that brings up another point. Programming takes a different kind of creativity and genius. Any one of us could have written AM or a similar program. We did not. We have chosen to vent our creativity using the creativity of the programmers of AM. Most of you would get instantly abusively if anyone were to tell your that your animations suck. If your are going to defend your creativity, isn't it hippocritical to bitch and moan about the creativity of the people who provided you with the means of expressing yours? I will probably stick with AM because I believe in the ideas behind it. That will not stop me buying and using other software or hardware to make up for AM's deficienties. Any program I might switch to would have the same or other problems that I experience with AM. After viewing any renderings or animations of mine, if anyone has questions about how they were done, (no, I have uploaded any yet) leave me a message in this forum and I'll explain how something was done, and in some cases, provide the project files so you can re-create it or improve it. I am sure that I will be asking some of you the same. Michael S. Flynn